In the same vein as of other Post-Apocalypse games such as The Last of Us, even Mad Max; Days Gone is more similar to the latter, rather than the former. It takes the open-world gameplay of Mad Max, the customizable vehicle and replaces it with a motorbike as your primary means of travel, your save point and use it to store additional ammunition. Days Gone tries to put some of the emotional moments akin to The Last of Us, they aren't as strong nor perhaps award worthy but it tries it's best.
Playing as Deacon St. John mirrors The Last of Us's Joel, however without a character akin to Ellie which is not here, and is perhaps the game's biggest lost not utilizing another character to play as, and interact with. However Days Gone feels like an installment of a survival-zombie drama such as The Walking Dead, and the game in terms of content feels like a full season of TV show; two major threats including a murderous Cult, and General with his own Militia has become a war-mad, religious fanatic putting survivors of the entire region in danger. These storylines converge alongside the mission to find Deacons' wife Sarah, as well as interacting with settlements and other survivors.
Gameplay is strong, with smooth controls both on foot, as well as controls for the motorbike. Upgrading your bike in-turn goes a long way to assist you in the world, upgrading your fuel tank and engine to even customizing it's appearance. One of the best features of the game is the Hordes that are across the map, and tackling them came close to the feeling of playing World War Z's campaign mode, fighting hundreds of zombies at once. Here in Days Gone, you must have a strategy to fight the hundreds of zombies, using explosives, traps, heavy-machine guns and even the layout to safely take on their numbers.
Weapons and crafting are a solid feature; weapons range from pistols, shotguns and assault rifles to machine-guns, sniper rifles and even crossbows. Playing as Deacon St. John and battling zombies, with my bike gave me the thrill as playing as Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead franchise. As you progress through the game, new crafting recipes unlock as well as credits that you can use in the various settlements for weapons, upgrades, ammunition and equipment.
Visually the game is stunning; Days Gone is certainly a graphical masterpiece from Sony when exploring the open-world, from snowy peaks to dense forests the game pushes the PS4 to it's graphical limits. This does however cause frame-rate issues, even with newer updates and patches these issues did persist, however it did not spoil my experience.
One of the game's strongest points for me personally, and also my reasoning for such a higher score is the musical score. The game has some of the best, atmospheric soundtracks as well as licensed songs that play at perfect moments, of emotion, death or loss or even simply as you explore.
The Good:
- A competent, but perhaps cliched plot of Post-Apocalypse Cults, survivors, rogue military leaders and general survival of a new dangerous world. This storyline has been done before in many films, television shows and even other video games but here in Days Gone, it is an enjoyable tale with relatable, human characters.
- Visually the game is stunning, with beautiful environments and high-levels of character, world and model detail.
- Musically, the same has one of the best atmospheric, dramatic, emotional musical scores and soundtracks that I've experienced in a while. Good use of licensed songs also.
- An ever-expanding arsenal of weapons, crafting recipes, special ammunition and even explosives constantly change the pace of the game, even encouraging you to tailor your play-style to the mission or situation.
The Bad:
- With visuals so high-end, the game does struggle with frame rates and visual bugs that can be detrimental in a chase, or shootout with enemies or even the Hordes that involve hundreds of the infected Freakers.
Now of course Days Gone is not perfect as The Last of Us, The Witcher 3 or even Red Dead Redemption 2 are but it tries it's best. It blends drama, action and tense survivalist mechanics to give in my mind an experience akin to a block-buster film, or high-budget television drama series. I would class Days Gone as having tried to match the emotional stakes of The Last of Us, but with the solid gameplay of Mad Max or even Far Cry: New Dawn.
For fans of The Walking Dead, survival-horror games and zombies Days Gone is perfect for you. Its a cinematic experience, and I have personally put in approximately between 30-40 hours and completed the main game, as well as many side-missions and side-content. Worth picking up full-price, or discounted if you see it on sale.